The MMPI: Does It Have a Place in Counseling Psychology Training?

Although a number of surveys have examined psychological assessment training in clinical psychology programs, studies about assessment training in counseling psychology programs have been all too few. This survey gathered information about the place of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) in the training of counseling psychology students. A 3-page questionnaire was mailed to alt directors of APA-approved counseling psychology programs for completion by the individual primarily responsible for teaching the MMPI. Forty (85%) of the 47 questionnaires were returned, it was found that the MMPI (a) was taught in one or more courses in virtually all programs; (b) was viewed as useful by most respondents: and (c) was included, with same variability, in practicum training and on doctoral qualifying examinations. As in clinical psychology programs, the MMPI appeared to occupy a place of importance in the assessment training of counseling psychologists.     

Community Participation and Attitudinal Changes Among Teacher Education Students

Augmenting an introductory course in guidance and counseling with a youth-serving experience brought greater changes in students' attitudes toward youth than did such a course coupled with library-reference assignments that focused on guidance principles. It was observed that no relationship exists between academic achievement in the undergraduate course and expressed positive attitudes toward teen-agers. The identification of dropouts in teacher education programs may be rendered more effective by the use of attitudinal measurements.     

Training Counselors for Work with Special Populations: A Second Look

Literature on the counseling needs of special populations typically has focused on the inadequate treatment those populations receive. Counselor education programs have responded by developing courses that target specific populations such as women, minorities, or disabled people. There are serious drawbacks, however, to this proliferation of specialized courses. In this article the authors discuss those drawbacks and argue that counselor education programs should include an integrated course that facilitates student self-awareness in conjunction with practical experience with a variety of clients.     

Guidelines for Cognitive Behavioral Training Within Doctoral Psychology Programs in the United States: Report of the Inter-Organizational Task Force on Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology Doctoral Education

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies initiated an interorganizational task force to develop guidelines for integrated education and training in cognitive and behavioral psychology at the doctoral level in the United States. Fifteen task force members representing 16 professional associations participated in a yearlong series of conferences, and developed a consensus on optimal doctoral education and training in cognitive and behavioral psychology. The recommendations assume solid foundational training that is typical within applied psychology areas such as clinical and counseling psychology programs located in the United States. This article details the background, assumptions, and resulting recommendations specific to doctoral education and training in cognitive and behavioral psychology, including competencies expected in the areas of ethics, research, and practice.     

Transfer of training from introductory computer courses is highly specific ... and negative!

Two groups of students in an introductory computer course learned either BASIC programming or the use of applications software. Students in the programming group learned to use a simple line editor to edit their programs, whereas students in the applications group learned to use a sophisticated cursor-oriented word processor. When both groups were tested on a simulated line-oriented text editor, there were no differences in overall performance, although both groups performed more poorly than did a group of introductory psychology students with no previous computer background. Different error patterns in the two groups for different commands suggest specific kinds of negative transfer due to their prior experiences. These results call into question the assumption that training students in one computer skill facilitates transfer to other situations.     

Changes in Rorschach Teaching

To investigate recent changes in Rorschach instruction, a double postcard questionnaire was distributed to all APA-approved doctoral programs in clinical psychology asking for information about the number and type of Rorschach courses. The data were compared with 1961 and 1966 surveys. A trend toward fewer Rorschach courses per university and a decrease in courses specifically on the Rorschach is evident. Changing views toward projective techniques may be a contributing factor, but the addition of areas such as behavior modification and community psychology into the training programs is also compressing the more traditional courses.     

TEACHING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN COURSES IN ANOTHER DISCIPLINE

A survey of course titles in African American Studies departments and programs was conducted to examine the course offerings on the psychology of women, the psychology of African American women, and other areas of psychology as well as courses on gender from other disciplines. A total of 82 programs or departments of African American Studies and 182 courses were listed. The course discipline was stated in the majority of courses, with psychology having the most courses. Only a small percentage of the psychology courses listed gender in addition to race in the title. Of those courses listed in psychology, the majority were in social, developmental, or clinical psychology. The disciplines of English, sociology, history, and political science had listings of courses with both gender and race titles. This small survey indicates that the psychology of women has not had much influence on the curriculum of African American Studies. Possible reasons for this are discussed, as are solutions to this problem.     

Teaching the introductory course in psychology circa 1900

Teachers of introductory courses in psychology and those who wrote the textbooks for the courses at the start of the 20th century represented the new psychology that replaced the old psychology of mental philosophy. Teachers and texts presented psychology as a natural science of the mind and mental processes, described its methods, and suggested its potential applications to practical concerns. Textbooks and teachers varied in their approaches to psychology, their priorities among its methods, and their emphases on applying psychology. The introductory course in psychology accurately reflected the state of the discipline at the turn of the century.     

Multicultural Training in University Counseling Center Predoctoral Psychology Internship Programs: A Survey

Research indicates that graduate programs in counseling and clinical psychology are beginning to include more courses on multicultural issues. Little data is available, however, concerning the inclusion of training in multicultural issues in predoctoral psychology internship training programs. This study examined the amount and type of such training actually occurring at predoctoral psychology internship training programs in university counseling centers.     

Comprehensive course management and delivery using POISE-CIS

At SUNY-Plattsburgh, we are using the POISE-CIS course management and delivery software to teach one section of introductory psychology each semester. Although this course uses a traditional textbook and covers the same material as most introductory psychology courses, it uses a self-paced mastery-based approach to learning and is managed and delivered over the Plattsburgh computer network. Students receive assignments, take on-line diagnostic assessments, receive feedback, and communicate with the instructor over the campus network. In a departmental laboratory facility, students also work with a computerized tutorial, complete computerized learning activities, take supervised on-line exams, and consult with teaching assistants. The present paper describes the overall design of the course as well as the specific characteristics of the course as it was offered in the spring of 1995, at which time data were collected on student attitudes toward computers.     

Psychological Assessment Training in Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs

We surveyed American Psychological Association–accredited clinical psychology doctoral programs' (n = 83) training in psychological assessment—specifically, their coverage of various assessment topics and tests in courses and practica, and whether the training was optional or required. We report results overall and separately per training model (clinical science, scientist-practitioner, and practitioner-focused). Overall, our results suggest that psychological assessment training is as active, or even more active, than in previous years. Areas of increased emphasis include clinical interviewing and psychometrics; multimethod, outcomes, health, and collaborative or therapeutic assessment; and different types of cognitive and self-report personality tests. All or almost all practice-focused programs offered training with the Thematic Apperception Test and Rorschach compared to about half of the scientist-practitioner programs and a third of the clinical science programs. Although almost all programs reported teaching multimethod assessment, what constitutes different methods of assessing psychopathology should be clarified in future studies because many programs appear to rely on one method—self-report (especially clinical science programs). Although doctoral programs covered many assessment topics and tests in didactic courses, there appears to be a shortage of program-run opportunities for students to obtain applied assessment training. Finally, we encourage doctoral programs to be familiar with (a) internships' assessment expectations and opportunities, (b) the professional guidelines for assessment training, and (c) the American Psychological Association's requirements for preinternship assessment competencies.     

Family Therapy Training in Clinical Psychology Programs

In a national questionnaire survey of graduate programs offering the Ph.D. or Psy.D. in clinical psychology, the status of family therapy training was examined. With a 79 per cent response rate (102 programs), the study found that 10 per cent of the nationwide faculty identified themselves as primarily family therapy oriented, 32 per cent of the programs had no family-oriented faculty members, 18 per cent of all psychotherapy courses were family therapy courses, and 21 per cent of the schools had no family therapy course. The ratings of the importance of providing students with family therapy training were found to be unrelated to the number of family therapy courses available but positively correlated with the percentage of family therapy courses within the total curriculum.     

Personality Assessment Training in Counseling Psychology Programs

Although data about personality assessment training in clinical psychology programs have often been gathered, little comparable data have been collected about assessment training in counseling psychology programs. To collect such information, we conducted a survey of all programs identified as part of the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs. A two-page questionnaire was sent out to the 64 program directors, with 56 (88%) of the questionnaires being returned. Information about availability of required personality assessment courses, availability of elective assessment courses, and types of personality tests covered in the counseling curriculum is presented and discussed.     

Personality assessment training in counseling psychology programs

Although data about personality assessment training in clinical psychology programs have often been gathered, little comparable data have been collected about assessment training in counseling psychology programs. To collect such information, we conducted a survey of all programs identified as part of the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs. A two-page questionnaire was sent out to the 64 program directors, with 56 (88%) of the questionnaires being returned. Information about availability of required personality assessment courses, availability of elective assessment courses, and types of personality tests covered in the counseling curriculum is presented and discussed.     

Philanthropy: A Method for Teaching Counselors to Be Social Advocates in the Age of Modern Behavioral Health Care

Graduate counseling programs are proficient in training direct service providers but less able to teach the business of sustaining a community agency's services. Modern philanthropy emphasizes social advocacy by investing in change that benefits the local community and respects the diverse cultural experiences of potential clients and stakeholders. Teaching philanthropy in an introductory graduate counseling course provides one avenue to prepare future counselors to both understand the importance of and be actively involved in sustaining a community counseling agency's mission.     

A Survey of Behavior Analysis and Behavioral Consultation Courses in School Psychology: Implications for Training School Psychologists

All 216 doctoral and specialist level school psychology training programs were mailed a seven question survey to determine how much behavioral consultation and behavior analysis course work school psychology students are offered. One hundred and twenty-eight surveys were returned, yielding a return rate of 58.26%. The results indicated that almost all programs offer didactic courses in consultation (98.79%) and behavior analysis/behavior modification (91.52%). The percentage of practicum devoted to behavioral consultation and behavior analysis/modification was considerably less (about 25% for each) than other subject areas. The results are discussed within the context of training needed to meet the needs of practitioners in the areas of behavioral consultation and behavior analysis/behavior modification.     

The Effect of Honduran Counseling Practices on the North American Counseling Profession: The Power of Poverty

A team of researchers consisting of counselor education professors and doctoral‐level counseling students conducted interviews with Honduran mental health professionals, including counselors, psychologists, pastors, community developmental specialists, and psychiatrists. The purpose was to understand the counseling process and profession that exists in a developing economy. The results are focused on the pervasive effects of poverty on the profession, the training of counselors, and the nature of counseling interventions.     

Comparison of counseling and clinical psychology graduates on the examination for professional practice in psychology

Doctoral recipients in clinical psychology scored higher than doctoral recipients in counseling psychology on the national licensing exam, the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology. The largest discrepancies between the 2 groups were on Subtest I (diagnosis), Subtest II (intervention), and Subtest III (research). The differences were less large for Subtest IV (professional/ethical/legal issues) and for Subtest V (social application). The authors recommend that both counseling and clinical psychology graduate students take more course work in the department of the other discipline.     

When Expertise and Ethics Diverge: Lay and Professional Evaluation of Psychotherapists in Israel

This study investigated school psychology doctoral students' beliefs concerning their preparation for, and concern about, dealing with 12 ethical issues based on year in graduate school and whether they had taken an ethics course. Two hundred thirty-three doctoral students from 18 of the 44 American Psychological Association accredited programs in school psychology listed in the December 1996 issue of the American Psychologist completed ethical issues surveys. Results showed that students who had taken an ethics course and those with more years of graduate education said they felt more prepared to deal with ethical issues than students who had not taken an ethics course and who had fewer years of graduate education. Participants believed they were least prepared to deal with ethical issues involving child custody cases, possible ethical violations by colleagues, and potentially violent clients. Participants' concern about dealing with ethical issues was negatively related to their number of internship hours.     

Multimedia comprehension skill predicts differential outcomes of web-based and lecture courses

College students (134 women and 55 men) participated in introductory psychology courses that were offered largely online (on the World Wide Web) or in a lecture format. Student comprehension skills were inferred from their scores on a multimedia comprehension battery. The learning of content knowledge was affected interactively by comprehension skill level and course format. Differences between format increased with comprehension skill such that the Web-based course advantage became greater as comprehension skill increased. This same pattern was not seen when self-reports of comprehension ability were used as the predictor. Furthermore, comprehension skill did not predict course satisfaction. Generally, students of all skill levels preferred the lecture courses.